Sometimes a word in the right place can make all the difference. Ask Susan Swift.
After making a statement to the Ford County District Court on Friday, Swift got exactly what she wanted: a tougher sentence for Richard Peterson of Colorado Springs, who injured her parents in a 2003 drunk-driving accident. The judge threw out a deal that would have offered him 52 months’ probation and instead sentenced him to a year in prison.
“It’s amazing that he went against the plea bargain,” said Swift, who works at Newman hospital. “We’re very pleased. That’s the best we could have expected.”
The accident happened on Sept. 26, 2003.
According to reports, Peterson tried to pass several cars at once on U.S. Highway 400 and ran head-on into a car driven by Robert and Phyllis Aldrich, Swift’s parents. Phyllis Aldrich received a head injury and died a year and a half later after it worsened into progressive dementia. Robert Aldrich was badly injured and is still unable to get around easily due to the damage to his legs.
Peterson was 60 at the time of the accident. His sentence of a year will include the 102 days that he has already served either in rehab or waiting to be sent to rehab.
Before the trial, Swift was shocked at the possibility that Peterson could get probation. She said that Attorney General Paul Morrison encouraged her to speak to the court and see if the plea deal could be reversed.
Indeed it could.
“We’re happy with it,” she said.